cis-4-Aminocrotonic acid (CACA; 100 microM), an analogue of GABA in a folded conformation, stimulated the passive release of [3H] GABA from slices of rat cerebellum, cerebral cortex, retina, and spinal cord and of beta-[3H]alanine from slices of cerebellum and spinal cord without influencing potassium-evoked release. In contrast, CACA (100 microM) did not stimulate the passive release of [3H]taurine from slices of cerebellum and spinal cord or of D-[3H]aspartate from slices of cerebellum and did not influence potassium-evoked release of [3H]-taurine from the cerebellum and spinal cord and D-[3H]-aspartate from the cerebellum. These results suggest that the effects of CACA on GABA and beta-alanine release are due to CACA acting as a substrate for a beta-alanine-sensitive GABA transport system, consistent with CACA inhibiting the uptake of beta-[3H]alanine into slices of rat cerebellum and cerebral cortex. The observed Ki for CACA against beta-[3H]alanine uptake in the cerebellum was 750 +/- 60 microM. CACA appears to be 10-fold weaker as a substrate for the transporter system than as an agonist for the GABAc receptor. The effects of CACA on GABA and beta-alanine release provide indirect evidence for a GABA transporter in cerebellum, cerebral cortex, retina, and spinal cord that transports GABA, beta-alanine, CACA, and nipecotic acid that has a similar pharmacological profile to that of the GABA transporter, GAT-3, cloned from rat CNS. The structural similarities of GABA, beta-alanine, CACA, and nipecotic acid are demonstrated by computer-aided molecular modeling, providing information on the possible conformations of these substances being transported by a common carrier protein.